


friends to (maybe, one day) lovers

by sigilcry



Category: Noblesse (Manhwa)
Genre: Character Development, F/M, Friendship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-05
Updated: 2019-01-05
Packaged: 2019-10-04 16:22:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,044
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17307863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sigilcry/pseuds/sigilcry
Summary: Rael tries out the novel idea of befriending Seira instead of relentlessly pursuing her. It's turning out pretty well?(AKA my boy tries to grow up and be respectful)





	friends to (maybe, one day) lovers

Rael had taken up the Noblesse's advice to  _talk_ to Seira with... mixed success. 

He had no idea how to approach her, so he ends up just loitering about near her. There's less actual _talk_ happening between them, and more _existing in the same room together_. Her lack of response left Rael's nerves in frays for the first few weeks, until Frankenstein had stopped him and mentioned how nice it was to see them getting along.

Seira was quiet, he knew that—  except he had no idea if that’s what she was really like with her friends.

Rael didn't think they were at a point they could call each other  _friends_ yet really, but they definitely upgraded from the pining-boy-and-disinterested-girl dynamic they had before.  If he had  to find a word for it, he’d say they were rather amicable towards each other.

It was a step towards getting to know each other, at least.  Rael was determined to do things right with her this time.  They could test the waters all she wanted before trying to dive into anything significant.

They had established a fairly regular pattern on the days that the school kids weren't over visiting— first there was small talk about their day, maybe an anecdote about something interesting that happened, or some benign upcoming event to discuss. 

Rael made sure to follow Karius’ advice and try listening more than he talked.  It was hard at first, because it felt like he was needling her with questions she wasn’t interested in answering.  But after a while, he noticed she would offer more information on her own without him prompting.  It felt like a victory.

When conversation gradually died down, Seira would take out her notes for the day and get to work on her homework. He may not have been in school, but he could respect the concentration that studies required. Thus, Rael would take out the book he kept stored in the side table's drawer and read quietly as she did her work.

Generally, Rael wasn't the type to read. He was far too impatient to follow a story, so it ruled all fiction out. On the other hand, nonfiction tended to veer into the technical side of things that he couldn't care less about.  His mind would wander away from him, having much better things to do.

He hadn’t really gotten better at reading, no matter how much  practice he was getting. Most of the time, he’d only end up skimming through pages he wouldn’t be able to recall afterwards.  He probably spent a majority of the time forcing himself not to fidget.

But the few hours of silence was worth it, to be able to spend some time with Seira. True, they weren't talking or interacting in any way— but it was nice to just  _be_ there together , in the same space.

Sometimes, even, they would happen to look up from their respective activities and happen to catch each other's eyes. Rael  would always be mortified to have been caught, but he would not run from the gaze of his peer.  Rael  would give  her a wobbly smile, which she  then  accepted with a small nod and the slightest upward quirk of her lips.

Those moments were enough to make his heart stop, and render him unable to  even pretend to  read for the next five minutes. It was a real reward to see her smile rather than disinterest or disgust.

No, he got enough disgusted gazes from Regis, thank you. 

He remembered the first months of cohabitating in this house, Regis wouldn't let him him be alone near Seira. He would always insert himself into whatever stunted conversation Rael attempted to make, stalking over to stand the slightest bit in front of her.

Even when Rael proved all he wanted to do was sit politely with Seira, he didn’t back off all the way. Regis would leave them to their own conversations, even if Rael could tell the boy was listening in from the other room. It was almost cute, how Seira would make an abrupt turn mid-sentence and address Regis, only for him to immediately respond as if he were a participant too.

Seira would smile at  the young boy , bigger than any Rael had seen directed towards another person, as Regis sputtered some excuse about his excellent hearing.

But Rael refused to let  a boring book or a grumpy baby boy be a setback.  Today was his day to visit with Seira , and he was going to enjoy it.  He was actually quite excited— today he had a funny little anecdote to tell her about a run-in with that Shinwoo kid.

Fortunately, Regis didn’t deem it necessary to monitor their visit that day, so he could get through his story without any snarky remarks cutting him off after every sentence. _And_ he had even elicited a little hum of amusement from Seira.

All in all, it was turning out to be a good day.  It felt normal, even, like he and Seira hung out all the time.

Or— it had been normal, until Seira made a sudden, bold move.

Clicking the caps to her pens on a little harsher than usual, and shutting her textbook resolutely, Seira set aside her work and look ed over at Rael. Voice  carefully calm, she ask ed , "Rael Kertia, would you care to spar with me?"

His interest  was immediate.  Rael could just  _imagine_ some phantom Regis scoffing at how much he was like a puppy,  delighting at the opportunity to romp around . It was just that, Rael really did not feel like reading today, and it wasn't often he got to interact with  Seira outside of study time or the occassional grocery shopping trip.

"It would be an honor, Seira," Rael said with only the slightest hint of  teasing in his voice. He tossed his book to the side and stood up to stretch, before he remembered whose house he was in.  Quickly, Rael reached over to return the book to its proper place.

Seira had him fixed with an odd gaze, one that his younger self certainly would have interpreted as fondness. His heart still wanted to leap to that conclusion, but he was  _trying_ to be better about letting himself make assumptions based on his emotions.  She likely didn’t mean anything by it. She was just waiting.

So before his heart could go stirring up anything silly, he spoke up, "We can use the chamber in the basement, it's where I train Regis. It's far more practical than that island you all run away to with Frankenstein, though if you wanted to, I suppose I could  _whisk_ you away—"

Seira turned on her heel to head towards the stairs  l eading down. Just before her face was completely out of sight, Rael could've sworn he saw the beginnings of a smile on her lips.

The two arrived to the room after passing Frankenstein’s workspace.  He had reciprocated their polite waves, and reminded them to be mindful of the time, since dinner would be soon.  Rael was too energized by the prospect of a fight to give dinner more thought than a simple affirmation. 

“ No weapons,” was the only rule that Seira established as she took her place opposite him.  It worked well enough for Rael— the wide arc of her scythe left him at a distinct disadvantage,  so it evened the playing field a bit.

Though that wasn’t to say it would be  _easy_ for him.  To no one's surprise, Seira  was a ruthless opponent. She c ould nearly keep pace with Rael, and even without the use of their soul weapons, she  had able to get some very good hits against him. 

Rael  was pretty sure he would've won if she hadn't caught his leg and tripped him up, using the opportunity to kick at his shins  and take him down without really causing damage. 

They  we re both running out of steam, so in an attempt to put an end to their little match, Rael surge d up  from his downed position and grab bed her around the backs of her knees.  He then roll ed the both of them over onto the ground  with a hard  _fwump_ .

Her reflexes  were fast enough to brace herself before she hit the ground, but she d idn’t bother to stop herself from flopping down from there and laying face down.  He wiggled his way up to be level with her face, laying on his side to face her.  Rael  then had to force himself to roll onto his back so he d id n't get any ideas about  _hugging_ her or something.

Seira's eyes slid shut, her breaths evening out from their bout of exercise.  She looked as serene as she ever was, only lacking the tension of poise that she usually carried herself with.  Relaxation made her appear boneless, though Rael had bruises from elbows and fists that proved otherwise.

She really was beautiful.

Just when Rael start ed to think she might've fallen asleep, he hear d her mutter a tired, drawn out,  _“Regissss.”_

“Is he here?” Rael asked, at once irritated at the prospect of their time alone being interrupted, and relieved at the distraction from her soft face.

“He will be,” she said. One eye cracked open enough to look at Rael as she let tension  he didn’t think she had leave her body, and settled even flatter against the ground. “Remember,  we’re soul-bound. Not as powerfull as the Noblesse and Frankenstein, but we’re aware of each other’s presence.”

Rael snort ed to himself. “Who’s the puppy now,” he mumble d to the cieling, forgetting that that conversation had taken place only in his head.  Though a side from a brief look of confusion, Seira g ave him no other response.

It took only a few minutes for Regis to come flying down the stairs. His feet  were barely in vision before he  was practically hollering, “Seira? What’s happened, I feel you r distress—”

_“Juice,"_ she replie d , and Rael t hinks he might have hit his head because he's  _pretty_ certain that sounded like Seira  _whining_ .

"Juice? What do— what did the two of you do to each other?" Regis huffed, coming to sit down by Seira's head and brushing her hair aside to check for wounds. 

"Physics was frustrating," she offered by way of explanation. It seemed she knew his fussing was inevitable, or she was too tired to do anything about it, because she didn't stop Regis from looking her over.

"Oh, me? I'm doing just peachy, thank you," Rael drawled, enjoying the look Regis gave him that just  _screamed_ he found him insufferable.

Both of Seira's eyes opened at this point, looking Rael over. After a pause for consideration, she ammended, "Two juices, please. Rael was kind enough to  spar with me ."

"If  _he_ wants juice," Regis huffed while he helped Seira sit up, "he can get you both juice.  _I_ will get you the physics notes you missed when you insisted on shadowing Frankenstein while he made ramen."

"Thank you," she replied, tipping her dead weight forward and flopping against Regis so she could reach to ruffle his hair up. The boy gave such an indignant huff that Rael couldn't help but burst into snorting laughter.

"I've changed my mind. Rael can get you and me some juice. He doesn't get any himself," Regis pouted.

Using the little bit of strength he had restored from resting, Rael pulled himself into a sitting position and scooted over so he, too, could lean heavily against Regis' other side. The look of him, like a trapped kitten, was so  _good_ that Rael began to laugh again.

"Juice for me and Seira, but not Regis. Got it," he said, delighting in how worked up he was getting from such a little joke.

"Don't worry, Regis," Seira whispered, eyes once again closed as her arms found their way around the small boy, "I'll share my juice."

Regis’  exasperation thawed into a kind of fondness, at least. He seemed to be alright with the situation when it was turned in his favor.

Until moments later, Seira qu ietly ammended , "No, I won't."


End file.
